


sweatshirts and bottled up feelings

by orphan_account



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Aged up to 16-17, Angst, Boys Kissing, Byeler - Freeform, Cute, First Kiss, Fluff, Hopper is alive, M/M, Swearing, but not too much Angst, byler, nothing too crazy, past mileven, this is Pretty Gay my dudes, who is season 3??? I've never heard of her, wowie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21745876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: There were very few things that Mike Wheeler took personally.Lighthearted teasing between him and Dustin or Lucas, the glares Max sent him whenever he said something too out-of-line, the constant push from his father to “man up,” as a failed attempt at masculinity—he took all of these things with a grain of salt. He knew he and his friends were only joking around, Max was usually right, and his father spoke fluent bullshit.Those things never fazed him. What did was the red sweatshirt that Will always wore around this time of year.orduring a snowstorm, mike and will discover their True Feelings
Relationships: Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 8
Kudos: 223





	sweatshirts and bottled up feelings

**Author's Note:**

> so i posted this on tumblr a few days ago but tumblr is kinda dying so SHOOm here's some content please enjoy

There were very few things that Mike Wheeler took personally.

Lighthearted teasing between him and Dustin or Lucas, the glares Max sent him whenever he said something too out-of-line, the constant push from his father to “man up,” as a failed attempt at masculinity—he took all of these things with a grain of salt. He knew he and his friends were only joking around, Max was usually right, and his father spoke fluent bullshit.

Those things never fazed him. What did was the red sweatshirt that Will always wore around this time of year. The one that Jonathan handed down to him before he left for college.

It was way too big for his best friend—the sleeves stopped several inches past his hands, the hems at the bottom came down to his thighs, but holy shit, Mike thought he was going to fucking lose it when Will wore it to his house the first time. The taller boy’s face was tinted red the entire time they watched SNL, sneaking little glances at Will every three seconds or so. Buster Poindexter performed Hot Hot Hot that night and Mike couldn’t help but smile at how ironic it was that the song was titled exactly what he was thinking.

Hawkins was known for its bitter winters, so finding the Party stuck in the Wheeler’s basement on a particularly frigid night wasn’t a surprise. They followed their usual routine—each of his friends waiting their turn to use the phone in the kitchen while Mike got the sleeping bags and extra pillows down the closet.

He allowed himself a glance at the group on his way to the basement, smiling into the massive pile of bedding built in his arms. He could hear Dustin and Lucas arguing about which Star Wars movie was better while El spoke quietly into the phone, presumably talking to Joyce or Hopper.

Nancy left for college a couple of months back and his parents took Holly to a family gathering in Ohio, so they had the entire house to themselves for the weekend.

Once he got to the bottom, he dropped all of it onto the hard floor and deeply exhaled. It probably wasn’t the best idea to lug all that shit down at once.

As if on cue, a soft voice came from the staircase.

“Damn, Mike. Did you carry all that down by yourself?” Mike didn’t have to think twice to know it belonged to Will. He spun around to see the young man with his arms crossed and a small smile on his lips, wearing that damn sweatshirt.

“Don’t sound so shocked,” He made sure to mix a hint of playfulness with the mock-offense in his tone, fighting the blush threatening to bloom. “I’ll have you know, I have a gym membership now.”

“Well, maybe you should use it then.” Will jokingly pokes the side of Mike’s arm before grabbing one of the sleeping bags and unrolling it on the floor. “I’m just saying, the entire Party was one room away. You could have just asked for some help.”

“Yeah, but then I wouldn’t get to show off one of my many talents.” Mike tried to ignore the butterflies that exploded in his stomach from the brief contact, plopping himself down onto the couch and laying back. “Why do you think I carry all of the grocery sacks in at once?”

“Because you’re stubborn and constantly refuse help?”

“Because I was train-” Mike paused. “Whoa, whoa, hold up. I am not stubborn!”

Will raised a brow as he made his way over to where his friend was sitting. “Michael, you’re so stubborn that I’m not even going to argue with you because I know we’d be here all night.”

Mike opened his mouth to say something but he knew it would only further Will’s case, so he mumbled his defeat and shifted his legs to make more room on the sofa. Will grinned and sprawled on the opposite end, absentmindedly tangling their limbs together.

“So,” Mike cleared his throat, feeling his ears begin to burn. “Did you guys get El and the chief moved in okay?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Will shifted and Mike followed his lead, leaning his back against the ugly decorative pillow that his mother made him put downstairs. When he looked back up, he immediately noticed how tense the smaller boy’s jaw had become. “It’s been hard for El to adjust but we’re trying to help her as much as we can.”

There was a moment of heavy silence.

“How are you handling it?” he asked, softly.

Will’s eyes shot up, an emotion hiding behind them that he had seen multiple times before. “I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“Bud, look at your hands.”

With that, his gaze followed Mike’s down to the death grip that he had on the throw pillow. His knuckles only started to regain color once he hastily let go, a blush making its way to his cheeks.

More silence.

“Hey, look at me.” The softness in his friend’s voice sent a shiver down Will’s spine, but it was nothing compared to the volt of electricity that shot through his body when Mike reached out and tenderly took his hand. “You don’t have to do this.”

Will swallowed, dryly. “Do what?”

“Pretend like everything’s okay.”

After a moment, he sighed, finally caving in. The feeling of their hands touching was enough for him to throw common sense out the window. “I- It’s just been a little hard. That’s all.”

“Why?”

Will stayed silent for a while. How the hell was he supposed to explain to his crush why having his ex has a step-sister was difficult for him? Why was it even a problem to begin with? It had been years since the two of them dated and he was pretty sure that both of them were over it. It was irrational—stupid, ridiculous, unfair of him—but he couldn’t shake how much it stung to have her sleep one door down.

She had Mike all to herself, so why would she just let him go? How could she just let him go? It kept Will awake at night, thinking about how lucky she had been. Mike was funny, charming, talented, and his _eyes_ , damn it, Will could go on and on about how perfect Mike Wheeler was.

Will was snapped out of his thoughts when the boy in question softly squeezed his hand. He blushed, feeling stupid for staring off into space for so long in the middle of a moment. His mind worked to come up with another excuse, but Mike beat him to the punch.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.” He didn’t seem interested in hiding the concern that laced his voice. “I just want you to know that- I-”

Will stayed silent as Mike sighed.

“You’re never alone, okay? I know you never want to be a burden to anyone and so you close yourself off, but you don’t have to do that with me.” He was sure Mike could hear his heart pound against his rib-cage when he shifted, slinging an arm around the smaller boy’s shoulder and pulling him in closer, the smell of his cologne suddenly invading his senses. “I love you and I hope that you know that I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”

The sincerity of those three words sent Will into a spiral, his breath hitching as he searched Mike’s eyes.

 _He didn’t mean it like that._ The voice in the back of his head hissed. _He loves you as a friend, you sick freak._

Will managed to silence the voice as the two stared into each other’s eyes with an intensity he had never felt before. It should have been awkward—especially considering that they were two teenage boys in the middle of Hawkins, but Mike didn’t seem to care so Will couldn’t bring himself to either. He wasn’t sure how long they sat like that, although he was sure it was at least a minute. He only broke away from their intimate staring contest to scan at Mike’s features.

He always loved his eyes. They reminded him of the expensive dark chocolate his grandparents used to put in his stocking as a kid—only, the color in Mike’s eyes was much richer and more vibrant. His freckles were the cutest thing he had ever laid eyes on. My god, the fucking _cheekbones-_

Will felt the same eyes that he silently obsessed over scan him, looking across every detail of his face. He felt overwhelmingly vulnerable but he was so dizzy at the feeling of Mike’s breath against his lips that he couldn’t even try to collect himself. The two sat in comfortable silence, their eyes exploring each other.

It didn’t escape Will’s notice when Mike glanced down at his lips. His heart started to impossibly beat faster than before as the two slowly leaned in. Their faces were so close that their noses brushed against each other, and Will swore that he could feel the heat radiating off of Mike’s cheeks, but the other boy made no effort to back away. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit-

Suddenly, the basement door opened and covered feet pounded against the steps. Mike and Will practically jumped away from each other, both of their faces flushed red and their hearts pounding.

“So I told him, _"Fuck off, Steve, don’t you have another fridge to raid?’_ and he-” Dustin paused as his gaze found the two boys, looking at them with a perplexed expression. They sat on completely different sides of the couch, trying to keep as much distance between each other as possible.

El’s eyes had found Will’s terrified ones and she somehow seemed to understand the tension in the room. “He what?” she urged, softly, once the rest of the group entered the basement. Will made a mental note to thank her later.

“Oh, right. He said that his landlord turned off his-” Dustin continued his story, but Will couldn’t bring himself to focus. Lucas took a seat in between the two of them, blissfully unaware of everything that had just taken place.

Did that just happen? Mike forced himself to calm his pulse, taking a few deep breathes as subtly as he could. If he was honest, he wasn’t even sure what that was, but he liked it. He felt his face burn at the thought of what would have happened if the group hadn’t walked in on them.

—

By the end of the night, everyone was wiped out. Dustin won the game of UNO, so he was given first dibs on the sofa. Everyone else rolled out their sleeping bags, sprawling themselves all across the basement floor.

Except for Mike. He always slept upstairs.

Will stared up at the ceiling, his mind replaying the events of a few hours ago over and over and over and over again.

The more he thought about it, the stranger the whole situation became. It wasn’t unlike the two boys to express affection toward one another, but that? That was an entirely new fucking level. Maybe Will wasn’t remembering it as well as he thought he was. There was no way that Mike leaned in. No fucking way.

He sighed and rolled over on his side, glancing up at the digital alarm clock that sat on the table beside the couch. _3:26 A.M._

The numbers in dim, red lighting illuminated the room just enough to mock him. Will knew he shouldn’t dwell on it as much as he was, but could you blame him? His crush of nearly seven fucking years almost kissed him. Or maybe he didn’t. He resisted the overwhelming urge to groan out of frustration and instead, he sat up, beginning to walk to the narrow staircase. He needed some water or something- anything to get his mind off of the whole situation.

Will cringed at the creaky floorboards as he made his way upstairs, hoping that he didn’t wake anyone up. It was unlikely—seeing as nearly everyone in the Party was a deep sleeper except for Will—but it was possible. He didn’t want anyone to suffer sleep deprivation because of his stupid feelings.

The young man flipped a switch on the wall, ignoring the way his eyes screamed at the sudden brightness as he shuffled over to the fridge. He opened it as quietly as he could before scanning his options, blinking a few times to adjust to the light.

After settling on a bottle of water, he closed the refrigerator and turned around, nearly jumping out of his fucking skin when he saw someone casually leaning against the counter. “What are you doing up?”

He yelped, a hand flying up to his chest and letting out a string of incomprehensible phrases before taking a deep breath. “Are you trying to give me a fucking _heart attack?_ Holy shit, Mike, how about you give a guy a fucking _warning_ next time-”

Will usually had the cleanest vocabulary in the entire party, so Mike nearly doubled over at the sound of him saying such vulgar words. Somehow he even made swearing seem cute.

“Stop laughing.” Will tried his best to look intimidating, but he could tell by his friend’s expression that he wasn’t doing a very good job. After his adrenaline rush died down, along with the laughter come from Mike, he grabbed his water bottle and took a seat at the breakfast bar.

Mike stood across from Will, dipping his head a little so they could maintain eye contact without the interference of the overhead cabinets. He gripped the counter-top to stay balanced, still smiling a little bit. “I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” he mumbled, embarrassed over his initial reaction. Mike saw the corners of his lips lift into a smile. “What are you doing up?”

Now it’s Mike’s turn to be embarrassed. He felt his cheeks flush as he cleared his throat. “Well- I- uh, I was hungry.”

Will raised a brow, similar to a reaction he had in the basement earlier. He unscrewed the cap and gulped his water. "At 3:30?“

"Time doesn’t exist in the realm of hunger.”

“I see.”

A heavy silence fell over the two of them and the taller boy stared down at his feet, awkwardly.

“Can- can we talk?” Will’s eyes widened at his own words, but he decided to push forward. No turning back now.

“What about?” he looked up at him through his dark eyelashes. Will hadn’t taken the time to scan him yet, so when he got a good look at Mike, he had to hold in a gasp at the dark circles under the boy’s eyes. He looked so tired.

Will took a moment to gather himself, his pulse already going unsteady. _Damn it, Will, just spit it out._

Once again, Mike beat him to the punch.

“Is this about what happened earlier?” It wasn’t Mike’s question that struck him—it was the way he said it. The way his voice wavered uncertainly. The way he looked and sounded on the verge of imploding. Will didn’t trust his voice, so he nodded instead, never breaking the intense eye contact between them. “I- _shit_ , I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t mean to make everything weird or anything. I… I understand if you don’t want to hang out anymore.”

Even in the low lighting, he could see that Mike’s face was flushed. He picked at his fingernails and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“How could you think that?”

Mike’s eyes snapped up to look at Will. His voice was low and his face was void of any banter as he wordlessly got off his bar seat, completely neglecting his water bottle.

He now stood directly in front of his friend, tilting his head up slightly to maintain strong eye contact. Despite Mike being a good three or four inches taller, he felt small compared to Will.

“Mike, look at me,” he said, softly bringing his hand up and cupping the taller boy’s jaw. It took all of Mike’s strength to not lean into his touch when he looked into his hazel eyes. He was sure Will could feel how absolutely on fire his face was. “Nothing you could ever say or do would scare me away. I mean it. You’re my best friend-” Mike’s heart stung at those words, but if he wasn’t so overwhelmed, he would say in full confidence that he saw Will grimace slightly when he said it. “-and I… I love you.”

It was only then that they were both fully aware of how close they were to each other. Will had absentmindedly walked them back to the edge of the counter-top, Mike leaning back into it and his hand still flush against his face. If either of them shifted, their hip bones would undoubtedly collide.

Mike gulped, both of their faces burning. “Nothing I do?”

He could feel Will’s breath hitch as he glanced down to his lips. He inhaled shakily. “Nothing at all.”

“Not even- not even if I kissed you?”

Will tried to respond but his words caught in his throat, causing him to let out soft, pathetic whimper instead. Any other time, Mike would have probably made a quick joke about it—but not right now. The stakes were too high. Will quickly realized trying to make his voice work took way too much time so instead, he grabbed the sides of Mike’s face and closed the gap between them.

He felt Mike stiffen beneath him before slowly melting into the kiss, a small sigh slipping from his throat. They parted for a moment, Will anxiously looking up at Mike.

“Is this okay?” he whispered as if it was his darkest secret—which, to be quite honest, it probably was.

Mike answered by pressing closing the gap again. This time, he added more pressure against Will’s lips, letting his nails scrape down his sides before gripping onto his hips.

Will let out a soft moan that made Mike’s head go all foggy as his small hands made their way to his hair. It was all tousled, every strand going in its own direction and the tips beginning to curl. Will ran his fingers through it and gave an experimental tug on one strand of hair. Mike panted against his lips, pulling him closer.

Eventually, their lungs begged for oxygen so they separated, leaning their foreheads together. Mike’s hands still clung to Will’s hips while the smaller boy’s arms slung around his neck. Their faces burned as they each tried to level out their breathing.

Mike was pretty sure his heart was going to fucking collapse at the sight of Will’s flushed face and hooded eyes. “I love you.”

Will smiled, pulling him into a tight hug. “I love you too.”

They stood in the kitchen, engulfed in comfortable silence for god knows how long.

“So,” Mike mumbled into his shoulder. “have I ever mentioned how fucking adorable you look in that sweatshirt?”

_“Mike.”_


End file.
